London Poverty Maps 1889

How wealthy were your forebears?
Two maps of Victorian London coloured street by street to show the lifestyle of the inhabitants from the wealthy upper classes to the vicious and semi-criminal lowest class.

A century after the start of the Industrial Revolution the Victorians finally began to turn their attention to matters of social conscience.

The remarkable achievements of the entrepreneurs who had prospered as they developed new factories, railways and docks overshadowed a deprivation among the working classes that had hitherto been unseen in Britain. Certainly there had been destitution and hardship in the rural communities but as people sought work in the new industrial heartlands they encountered appalling disease, poorly constructed housing and little sanitation. Nonetheless high rents still had to be paid, invariably to unscrupulous landlords. There was little concern for the long working hours or child labour, and unguarded machinery and uncaring overseers caused serious accidents after which casualties were given little or no assistance other than the prospect of ending their days in the workhouse.

Wealthy ship owner Charles Booth was appalled by conditions in London’s docklands and vowed to do something about it. Realising that the situation needed to be accurately assessed he published numerous surveys that reported on the living conditions, lifestyle and income of Londoners. These two maps classify London streets into seven categories from the very poor lowest class mainly in the east end (but with some surprising enclaves in the fashionable west) right up to the wealthy upper classes in Marylebone and Mayfair.

A fascinating resource for genealogists and all lovers of London’s past

Overall size of each map 36 x 22.5 ins, 91 x 70 cm